Updated at 7:00 p.m.
Albuquerque, NM – Observe New Mexico Elections (ONME) is a nonpartisan observation effort designed to increase trust and transparency in elections. The effort, led by and for New Mexicans, has 170 certified election observers in 153 voting locations. ONME observers are located in 29 of New Mexico’s 33 counties.
Polling Locations
- ONME is reporting that 98% of the polling sites were open at 7:00am, 100% were open by 7:05 a.m.
- Observers noted few technical difficulties throughout the day related to the state-wide-voter registration system.
- Minor equipment setup delays were reported in six locations – two in McKinley County, and one each in Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Taos, and Union counties – however this did not significantly disrupt the voting process in any location.
- Observers noted there were four locations – one each in Cibola, Lea, Roosevelt, and Taos counties – with space limitations that might make it challenging to fully guarantee voter privacy in the event the voting location reached capacity.
Observers
ONME’s observers in 153 voting locations reported the presence of party appointees across the state, including:
- 48 locations noted Democratic Party observers
- 43 locations noted Republican Party observers
- 2 locations noted Libertarian Party observers
- 1 location noted a Green Party observer
- 3 locations (all in Sandoval County) noted University of New Mexico academic observers.
- 2 locations (Bernalillo County and Socorro County) noted United States Department of Justice observers
Isolated Items of Note
- While the voting process has functioned well statewide, observers reported some technical difficulties affecting the same-day-voter registration system in at least 15 counties: Bernalillo, Curry, Doña Ana, Eddy, McKinley, Mora, Otero, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, and Union counties.
- Observers across the state also reported some same-day-voter registration system problems, resulting in voting delays in many locations and some voters leaving without casting a ballot.
- Observers reported wait lines varied from 10 minutes to two hours to vote due to a large number of same-day-voter registration delays. In some locations, voters were reportedly told to come back later in the day to complete registration or to go to a different location, such as the country clerk’s office. In one location, voters were reportedly told to stand outside and wait for a phone call telling them they could enter to register to vote.
- As of 3:30, ONME observers noted some technical difficulties and delays related to the same-day-voter registration system persisted in a number of voting locations across the state.
- ONME also observed, at one location in Zuni Pueblo, election officials reportedly requested all voters to present photo IDs at the beginning of the day. ONME received later confirmation that the election official stopped requesting photo IDs.
- In Grant County, an official reportedly flashed a concealed weapon during the opening of the voting location; when asked, an election official ensured that the weapon was immediately removed from the premises.
- At one location in San Juan County, voters who received absentee ballots and were attempting to vote in person were reportedly turned away without being permitted to vote with a provisional ballot.
Conclusion
ONME encourages county clerks to issue provisional ballots to all voters who could not complete the same-day-voter registration process due to wait times. Observers remain present at voting locations across the state and will continue to observe the voting, counting and closing processes. ONME commends the citizens of New Mexico for their patience and commitment to a participatory, collaborative democratic election and encourages electoral authorities, political parties, and voters to maintain the spirit of transparency, cooperation and patience observed thus far.